PH ready to manage risks posed by Russia-Ukraine conflict, natural disasters

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MANILA, Philippines — The country is prepared to handle the risks caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and natural disasters which have caused inflationary pressures on food, transportation and energy, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the second Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Global Dialogue on Sunday.

“The pandemic aside…many economies worldwide are beset by troubles generated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the natural calamities that dampened agricultural production in many countries, the Philippines included. [These] have driven steep and persistent inflationary pressures on food, transportation, and energy,” said Marcos during his intervention at the said dialogue.

However, Marcos said that despite these “global headwinds,” the country remains ready to manage the said risks through the Medium-Term Fiscal Program, as well as the upcoming Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.

These, he said, “will contain targets and strategic actions of our government agencies in the next six years.”

In addition, he asserted that, in light of the developments in COVID-19 recovery, he thinks the nation has already begun addressing the issues it is facing.

“I am quite optimistic that we have started along the path to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant problems in our economy,” said Marcos.

He also noted that the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) displayed a rebound growth rate of 5.7 percent in 2021 and averaged in the first three quarters of 2022 at above 7 percent. But he also bared that the inflation rate has reached a peak of over 7 percent, which presently, has gone down to 5.5 percent.

“So overall, it is clear that inflation remains a continuing concern, although many of these numbers are welcome indicators. They show that our recovery is proving to be robust and that we are returning to our original growth trajectory prior to the pandemic,” said Marcos.

Despite these developments, Marcos warned that the country is “not out of the woods yet,” noting that “a single country cannot achieve economic progress alone.”

“We, as Asean, must promote a people-oriented and people-centered recovery and development pathway beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,”  Marcos said.

He then enumerated the current efforts the country currently focuses on in its path towards economic recovery including education, digital trade, climate change, among others.

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